Forging Amethyst
by AnnaAza
Summary: Zutara Week 2012 is upon us once more, so celebrate with seven days of celebration in honor of fire and water! Happy Zutara Week to all and to all a good night with Seasons, where Zuko and Katara come together through festivals, dances, and sea prunes!
1. Chapter 1: Serendipity

**Day One: Serendipity**

_(n): discovering something nice while looking for something else; "looking for a Knut, but finding a Galleon" (_Dumbledore, _Order of the Phoenix_)

"Why do we need a dog?" Zuko grumbled from the squashed black leather couch, barely looking up from _Time Magazine_. His roommate, Jet, stood over him, arms dramatically slicing the air as the radio's football game blared behind him.

"Every man needs a dog! Haven't you had a dog before?"

"No." Zuko didn't think he'd ever even had a pet before, excluding the decorative koi in their Japanese garden, where his father held elaborate galas to impress his high-ranking guests.

"No wonder you're like this, then." Zuko opened his mouth to prove that it wasn't his lack of a dog that made him who he was today, but Jet was on a roll. "You could remake your childhood—play with it, teach it tricks, go for walks, oh! And pick up babes!"

"Jet, I don't—"

"Okay. _I_ can pick up babes. But listen! It can be a quiet dog that can fit into this apartment—"

"Hold on." Zuko wearily sat up. "How are you going to convince our landlady to get a dog? You know she has about eight cats that she'll kill to protect."

"I already convinced her and paid down an extra security deposit. As long as it's quiet and gets along with cats, she's okay with it." Jet plopped down next to him, looking smugly at him.

"But the supplies and training and—"

"I'll train the dog, and I'll pay for most of the supplies. Come_ on_, Zuko!"

Zuko saw that he was losing the battle. It wasn't a terrible request, unlike the open bar incident at college. He could never look at Ty Lee the same way again.

* * *

"Bad news." Jet groaned as Zuko snatched the keys off the kitchen counter.

"What?"

"I can't come with you to the pound. The damn boss at the dojo switched Smellerbee's and my classes around, so I have to be there 'now, or my ass is fired.' You have to go by yourself."

"What breed?" Zuko sighed, picking up a Post-it note and a black ballpoint pen in case it was a complicated mix or an unknown breed.

"A Labrador. It can be a mix; it doesn't matter. I had one when I was a kid, and he was best dog _ever_. You better get a Lab, Zuko, hear that?"

* * *

The pound was well-lit and full of dark metal cages that seemed to encompass every inch of space the building had, leaving a small alley for him to walk through. A cat with one blue eye and one green mewed at him from a small space filled with the essentials and a pitiful ball to play with. Zuko immediately felt depressed as the row of cages went on and on, pausing to stroke a sleeping boxer on the nose.

"Hello." A woman with green eyes and a bright smile greeted him. She stuffed her hands into her faded tan apron and shuffled her purple Vans, twisting her brown ponytail. Her silver, slim nametag read _Hi! My name is JIN_. "What sort of animal would you like?"

"A Lab. It doesn't matter if it's a mix." Zuko echoed Jet's words mechanically.

"I think we have two. I'll go check and bring them to you. Feel free to look around!" she smiled at him again and scurried off, leaving Zuko awkwardly alone with the cages again.

He decided to roam around, but his sneaker's lace snagged on a lower cage. Bending down to untangle it, he heard joyful barks and soft cooing coming his way.

"Hey," a woman's voice said. "You need help?"

"I got it." Zuko replied, a bit embarrassed. He finally stood up and met bright blue eyes. _Contacts? _She was smiling at him, her ponytail loose and a few strands sticking out around her pleasant, heart-shaped face. Her nametag was askew on her uniform, but he caught _KATARA _scratched onto its surface. Wound around her right wrist was a red leash, and attached to it was a small dog with one ear. Zuko took a double take and tilted his head to look at it. The dog stared calmly back at him and wagged its tail.

"He lost his ear in an illegal dog fight." The girl, Katara, explained softly, reaching down to stroke his head. The dog leaned into her touch.

"That's terrible." Zuko exhaled.

"It is. He's such a sweet little guy who was in the wrong place." She smiled at him. "I'm Katara, by the way."

"I know." He blurted. "It's on your nametag." _Idiot. _

She smiled in reply. "Do you need help?"

"No, thank you." He shifted to his right. "I already had help."

"What did you ask for?"

"A Lab. Jet, he talked me into getting a dog."

"Jet?" She tilted her face curiously. "Who's he?"

"We live together—" Her face fell, and he rushed to rectify the situation. "I mean, we're not_ together-together_—he's my roommate from college. Not that there's anything wrong with such relationships; my friend, Haru, is, and my _other_ friend, Ty Lee, she's bi—"

He stopped when she began to laugh hysterically with cute snorts from her nose, startling the dog slightly. Bending down to pet his head, she calmed herself down, shaking her head. "I get it; I get it." She lifted her head up to grin widely at him. "What's your name?"

"Zuko." he coughed. "Zuko Agni."

"Nice to—"

"Hey, lucky for you, I have the last Lab left!" Jin burst in with an exuberant smile and a frantic, wagging dog desperately trying to create enough friction on Jin's sneakers to catch fire and hopefully melt the bars on some animal's cage. The...creature had a wild look in its eye as it yanked fiercely on Jin's wrist (she winced, but covered it up with a bright smile) and broke free of the leash, snatching Zuko's wallet right out of his pocket as he was bending down to pet it and racing down the hallway to the unknown.

He cursed and chased after it, wondering how the hell he was going to tell Jet about this new reincarnation of Marley who needed two bottles of Xanax. College track really came in handy, but he was panting by the time he snatched the dog's leash and wrestled his leather wallet out of the dripping jaws. He flipped through it and sighed when half of his ten dollar bill was eaten. Glaring at the pooch, who was downright _smirking_ at him, he wrapped the end of the leash firmly around his arm and made the dog heel as they marched back to the two women. The dog barked and whined at him, bent on strangling whatever skin the leash could touch, but Zuko gritted his teeth and imagined all the different ways he could kill his roommate.

He was on his way when he heard fervent pleading from around the corner and slipped behind a stack of cans and bags of food.

"Jin, please, it's only two weeks until my paycheck—"

"I'm so_ sorry_, Katara, but the boss says that he's delayed it long enough. The dog has to...go. Today. Unless he gets adopted, he isn't..." There was a hesitant pause. "Katara, I can't hold him. I can't get fired."

"Jin, please. He's so strong, so sweet, so smart..."

"I know, but he has to. And I'm sorry. But you shouldn't get so attached—"

"I know. But there was something special about him; he needed my help."

"I'll give you a few moments to say goodbye."

Zuko stepped out, and the two quickly turned to face her, Katara trying to wipe her tears away with the edge of her apron. She was sobbing quietly, her face so broken and tragic that Zuko felt his mouth opening before he knew it and saying, "I'd like to see the dog she has, please."

Katara looked up and gaped openly at him, but Jin quietly took the leash from her and led him up to him. Zuko handed the squirming Lab over to Jin and traded dogs, then bent down to really observe the scruffy mutt. It wasn't exactly "cute." It was a mish-mash of different colors, as if someone had fired multiple colors—black, tan, yellow, gray—out of a paintball fun on a canvas of brown. The fur was a child's touch and feel book's dream of different textures—fluffy, scraggly, rough, fine, wooly, and almost bald near the head. The eyes were intelligent, a deep brown that calmly stared back at Zuko. Even though the lack of the ear would have been a bit odd, it didn't matter to him. Zuko almost rolled his eyes as the phrase "love at first sight" came to him, but he smiled quietly and laid his hand on the dog's small head.

"I'll take him, thank you."

Katara's blue eyes were wide as she whispered, "Thank you," as Zuko swiped his credit card with Jin busily getting the necessary paperwork together.

"What's his name?" he asked, as he signed his name in neat, thin calligraphy.

"Noatak." she answered shyly. He nodded and turned to the door, opening it slowly, Noatak trotting behind him with a _clickety-clack _of his nails against the cement floor.

"You know," he found himself saying before the glass door closed behind him, the bells on the handle jingling. "Why don't you come by the park on Fifth Street on Saturday morning? I'll bring Noatak."

* * *

"The _hell_ is that?" Jet swore angrily as Zuko walked in the door of the small apartment with a frustrated growl and a frustrated toss of his hook swords on the kitchen table. "I told you a _Lab_. What is _wrong_ with you?"

Zuko simply grinned and patted the dog's head.

* * *

_Notes:_

_So, Happy Zutara Week 2012! This was my hardest prompt to write, but tell me what you think! Yes, I named the dog after (SPOILER) Amon's real identity. _

_Please adopt an animal in need of a home near or not near you._


	2. Chapter 2: Momentous

**Day Two: Momentous**

Zuko drew up his fur-lined hood as tightly as he could over his head as another blast of what seemed like ice whips made his teeth clatter and rattle in a discordant rhythm in his skull. And this was supposed to be mild weather in the South Pole, he bemoaned. If it weren't for his fiancé, he wouldn't (truthfully) want to be here. Said fiancé smiled up beside him and squeezed him numb hand, captive in a dark blue mitten. "Cold?"

He growled playfully at her and bent down to kiss her. She responded wonderfully, hair loops tickling his face. Their damned parkas allowed for no curves or muscle to be felt, but Zuko thought Katara adorable and innocent with hers on. It reminded him of the old days.

"Too cold for your Firebending?" she asked as they walked back to the main igloo for dinner.

He shook his head. "Too exhausting. It's just a lot to use my Firebending all day to keep warm."

"You'll get used to it." she soothed him. "In the meantime, sleep with all your clothes on and dry completely after taking a bath. And I have some special seaweed lotion for chapped skin."

He smirked at her. "Perhaps you can rub it on me?"

She flamed bright red in response and didn't answer, but they had arrived at the entrance flap, so her silence could be excused. No matter. He bent down and kissed her, long and slow on the lips, before entering the enclosure.

It was a family dinner—Gran Gran, Hakoda, Pakku, Sokka, and Suki were waiting for them with the table already set.

"I didn't realize we were late; I'm sorry." Katara apologized as they sat down. Zuko didn't want to remove his mittens, but since his handling of utensils was clumsy in them, he did so reluctantly and rubbed them together, warming them slightly with heat.

"No matter. We've all been late to dinner because of tumbling in the snow." Gran Gran replied calmly, and the couple immediately stared at their plates as the rest of the table fell into awkward silence. Sokka was edging away from Suki, clearly in memory of the time were they had been two hours late to dinner three years ago. Hakoda and Pakku were looking hard at Zuko, as if he had been the one exclusively participating. Suki winked at Katara, who muttered something about time lost and started on the stewed sea prunes.

Dinner, despite that incident, went on normally. Hakoda talked of tribal matters, while Sokka, Katara, Pakku, and Gran Gran offered occasional suggestions. Everyone discussed trade, and Zuko negotiated Fire Nation spices, especially salt. There was talk of ship repairs and winter storage and whale hunts and—

"Ice dodging." Hakoda suddenly declared, and everyone looked up. Sokka in particular looked excited, and he and Suki exchanged eager and nervous glances. The chief turned to Zuko. "Son, you are marrying my daughter. Katara has already accepted that in being the Fire Lady, she will become Fire Nation and must leave her home behind. But you, Fire Lord, are marrying a woman of the Southern Water Tribe. In the Water Tribes, anyone marrying into the tribe is considered Water Tribe. But that means you will have to pass a test of wisdom, bravery, and trust."

Zuko inclined his head. "Anything to marry your daughter, sir."

"Ice dodging is a ceremonial test that is conducted when one is fourteen. His or her father goes with them to oversee the process." Hakoda paused. "Do you know what ice dodging is, Zuko?"

He shook his head. "No, sir." Zuko had a fleeting vision of him dodging boulders of ice, much like Aang's Earthbending practices with Toph.

"It involves weaving a boat through a field of icebergs."

"Oh." Zuko suddenly felt colder. His imperial ship could smash through ice pretty well, but he had seen the wooden boats of the Water Tribes. If he made a wrong choice, then their hard work could be splinters, and he could would be at the bottom of the freezing ocean.

"But I don't know how to steer a Water Tribe boat." he blurted out self-consciencly.

"They teach you if you don't know, like they're doing with me." Suki explained as Hakoda was opening his mouth.

Katara looked worriedly at him and squeezed his arm. "Be careful, Zuko."

* * *

Three days later, Zuko was fingering one of the ropes on the slowly tilting boat as Hakoda stood in the center. Suki was muttering the parts of the boat as she tapped the mast in a steady rhythm that Zuko recognized as a Kyoshi chant.

"Who's the third person, Dad?" Sokka asked, checking the main sail's rope carefully for frays.

Hakoda gazed towards the village. "Nilak."

Sokka dropped the rope. "No!_ Dad_!"

"What's wrong with him?" Zuko asked.

"He was one of Hahn's best friends in the Northern Water Tribe before he came here to help rebuild. But he's such an _ass_!" Sokka turned to his father. "Come on, Dad, you can't make them take this with Nilak!"

"Enough, Sokka." Hakoda's voice was stern, something Zuko rarely heard towards Sokka. "In this boat, the three will be siblings of the Tribe together, bonded over one mission. They must work together to complete this ritual, and this will be part of their test."

"He's late. They'll miss the tide." Sokka argued in half-hearted disgruntlement as he resumed checking the rope.

"I'm here." Zuko turned, and a tall, dark-haired youth was running towards the ship with a slender woman at his side. The man had two strands of black hair with whalebone beads, an angular face with all sharpened cheekbones, eyes like the breaching whales Katara had pointed out to him on their first day, and a slight scar across his nose.

"Say your farewells." Hakoda allowed.

Suki and Sokka had each other against the mast in a second and were kissing passionately. Zuko scurried down the gangplank and saw Katara, standing with a wrapped bundle in her arms. She smiled and handed it to him. "Seal jerky."

He bowed to her in thanks, tucking it in his pocket. She smoothed his hair as if preparing him for a date instead of a dangerous mission. "Are you nervous?"

"A little," he admitted. He kissed her hair and smiled. "I'll be fine."

She leaned back and stared off into the distant cresting waves with steady, blue eyes. "Be back soon. The waves are choppy today, and they might get worse as the day goes on."

"Men and woman!" Hakoda called. "Let's go!"

Katara kissed him again. "Don't underestimate the tides. If Dad tells you to stop, stop. You should be good if you get steering. Be careful with the jib; be steady with it. But if you get the main sail, the winds can be brutal. I got that one; I should know."

"I will." He quickly pecked her on the nose and ran for the ship before Hakoda threatened, "We're going!" Nilak was confidently saying to his fiancé, "We'll be back before you know it, Sakaya. I'll return with the best mark, no worries."

Before Zuko knew it, he was assigned to the tiller, gripping it as the sails whipped about in the wind, the ship rocking to and fro, a contrast from the smooth sailing of the Imperial Flagship. Suki was at the jib (she bit her lip, but nodded solemnly) and Nilak got the main sail (he gave Zuko a dirty look behind Hakoda's back and a "I should have gotten the steering job."). Hakoda nodded and sat at the bow. "I will not interfere unless the situation is truly dire. You will pass or fail without my aid."

"Straight forward." Zuko called out confidently. The icebergs he could see were capped in white, sparkling against the blinding sun. Suki carefully adjusted the rope, and Nilak yanked the main sail so fiercely that they almost jerked completely to the right. Zuko nearly stumbled and glared at him.

"What's the matter, Firebender?" Nilak hissed. "Not used to people not obeying you?"

Zuko fought to keep his eyes ahead. "I'm sorry about the North. I didn't order it, and I had no part in fighting in Zhao's mission. They're close. Suki, ease up a bit, please."

"You're don't deserve to marry the princess of the south." Nilak was near Zuko's ear, so Hakoda couldn't hear. Zuko was tilting the rudder to the left as he signaled to Suki to let out more sail. "She refused everyone from all of the Water Tribes and—"

"Maybe _you."_ Zuko jerked away. "You, steady. Suki, more sail!" They barely just cleared the first hurdle of icebergs. Suki was glancing at the two in worry, quietly moving the sail so it bypassed another iceberg.

"And she picked a filthy_ mongrel_ from the _Fire Nation_." Nilak continued bitterly, taking out his anger on the rope.

"You have Sakaya." Zuko snapped. "Helm to the left, Nilak! Suki, give him a little room!" They wove quickly thorough the icebergs as Zuko, sweating through his parka, shoved the tiller back and forth. The ship nearly hit a hidden piece of jagged ice by an inch.

"I _love_ Sakaya." the Water Tribesman retorted as they skimmed just to the left of a family of otter-seals. "I'm not marrying her for power, or for the Water Tribe wealth, or anything. How can the _last_ Water Tribe princess marry the king of someone who destroyed our home? Fire_ does _melt ice, after all."

"Is that what you think?" Zuko whirled around in anger to face him, heat surging through his palms so fast that he could feel the insides of his mittens smoldering. He clenched his fists instead, begging himself to suck the fire out, to _calm down..._ "She chose_ me_; I never _forced..."_

_"Look, guys." _Suki scolded, pointing before shoving her hands back onto the rope.

They had reached another iceberg field up ahead. Zuko noticed that his scar had begun to ache and looked at the sky. It slowly but steadily turning gray and the waves beneath them were growing a bit wilder.

"We should turn back." Zuko ordered.

_"Coward."_ Nilak growled. "Afraid of a little cold weather?"

"Katara said that the waves would get choppier today, and I feel a storm coming. We should go back before it gets worse." Zuko tried to reason before they reached the icebergs. He silently instructed Suki to focus the sail to counteract the winds.

"I agree." Suki said. "Kyoshi Island had a lot of monsoons during the spring, and they started out like these. We shouldn't underestimate the weather."

"If anything goes wrong, I'm a Waterbender." Nilak boasted.

"Left, Suki. Tighter, Nilak." Zuko gritted his teeth. The bow began to turn back towards the village. "Let's go."

"No." The lower sail jerked, hard, and the ship jostled to the left side, towards the jagged crags of icebergs. "Let's finish this."

"Don't be a fool." Suki tugged her sail and Zuko pulled the tiller to the right. "The wind is beginning to pick up."

The ice began to clash together, and the current picked up. Raindrops began to hit their faces, and Zuko felt the familiar chill of the Water Tribe wind slapping his face again. Hakoda raised his eyebrows as the ship picked up speed.

"Slow down!" Zuko muttered to himself. He ignored Nilak's shouts and drifted into his instructions from the past classes, feeling separate from his body as he yelled out the shots and tugged the rudder as hard as he could.

"Give me that!" Zuko found himself in a impromptu tug-of-war with the Water Tribe man over the tiller, and Suki swore over the flapping jib. She tied the main sail down for the moment and began to tug the bottom sail so that the ship was facing away from the icebergs. Zuko shoved the rudder again, but Nilak punched him in, taking advantage of his blind spot. His hands jerked sharply, and he landed on the deck, feeling the dried seal jerky in his coat pocket snap underneath his weight.

"Zuko!" Suki frantically yelped, and Zuko heard a loud _crunch! _as wood smashed against solid ice. Hakoda looked as if he wanted to rise at this point. Freezing water touched the unburned side of Zuko's face, and he briefly was torn between praying or cursing.

"Nilak, freeze the water!" Zuko rolled and jumped up onto his feet. Nilak had control of the damn rudder, but perhaps he could grab onto it when the Waterbender raised his arms or something to solidify the water. "Suki, can you turn the jib to the right?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Suki cried frantically. The rain poured down more heavily as Zuko snatched the piece of wood as if it were a landline.

Everything happened all at once.

Nilak lunged at him in fury, wanting the stolen position back from the Firebender at once as Zuko side-stepped, bumping into the rudder as Suki was wrenching the main sail severely to the right to avoid an ice floe. The deck tilted, slippery from the rain, and Nilak _skidded..._

Suki yelled, "Man overboard!" as Zuko swore, "Shit." He expected Nilak to Waterbend his way up if he couldn't swim or if an iceberg knocked him into the freezing sea, but he couldn't see the Waterbender. Hakoda was now fully up, rushing to check over the side, as Suki and Zuko were helplessly hanging onto their posts as they scanned the water.

_"There!" _Hakoda shouted, and Zuko saw Nilak limply lying on an iceberg floating and bobbing wildly in the turbulent sea. The red showed up shockingly with the whitness, despite the blurry rain.

Zuko thought of Katara, how worried she'd be and how angry and sad and grief-stricken if he never came back. He remembered Nilak's confident smile at his bride-to-be and the look on the latter's face. Despite Nilak's controlling, hotheaded attitude, he couldn't let another man die. Not on this boat, where everyone was supposed to be brothers and sisters.

He braced himself as he kicked off his boots and started running. _I'm an idiot, _he thought, as he dove into the dark waters.

* * *

"You're an _idiot." _

"I think I got that the first five times, 'Tara."

Her lip trembled as she embraced him, despite the piles of fur on top of him. He feebly tugged his newly dried arm out from the confines and patted her back. "There, there. I'm okay."

"Did you know how _cold _the Southern Sea was? And you _swam _in it with a nearly full-grown man on your back! I—"

"I'm fine, sweet one. I had to help him; it was my duty."

She pulled back and tears shone in her eyes as she leaned in kiss him, but the tent flap rustled open as Nilak and his future wife stepped in. His head was bandaged, and he was heavily relying on Sakaya for support, as his legs were trembling. Katara stared levelly at him and moved closer towards Zuko. Nilak looked to the ground, then at Katara, who was standing proudly at his side, and finally at Zuko, bundled up in animal pelts and trying not to shiver visibly.

"I don't like Firebenders." he started bluntly.

Katara stood up. "You come into _my _home and speak to the man who saved you like this? You should—"

"Katara." Zuko awkwardly tapped her on the ankle, which was a spot he could reach while sitting up a bit without seeming improper. She huffed a little and stepped back.

"But even though I was partially knocked out at that time, I remember you saving me. So, thanks, Fire Lord." Nilak clasped his hands and bowed slightly to him. Zuko nodded in acceptance. Nilak's gaze didn't seem quite so hostile when he looked back as he departed.

* * *

Hakoda smoothed the arc of cuttlefish paint over Zuko's brow and turned him around to face the assembled Water Tribe gathering in the Great Hall. "Fire Lord Zuko has earned the Mark of the Trusted. He is now an honorary member of the Water Tribe and is more than worthy to marry our daughter, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko bowed to the whole tribe, but he could only see the happy gleam of his soon-to-be-wife's eyes as she clapped through her mittened hands.

* * *

_Note:_

_I__ fail at boating, so do not follow my directions if you want to steer your sailing ship. _


	3. Chapter 3: Transcend

**Day Three: Transcend**

It wasn't the hole that the wound was making; she could fix a simple wound, simply staunch the bleeding and quickly seal it with Waterbending. But the lightning had blasted open the skin and had (Katara swallowed) _cooked _the insides. The bleeding was the least of her worries. He was moaning softly in agony, trying not to twitch as the lightning slowly leached out of him, knowing that the wound would open more if he did. The tendrils of electricity had sped up his heart to the point where it was pulsing madly at the sheer speed of a galloping ostrich horse. She knew when the heart was this speed, it would tire itself out and stop.

She wouldn't let this happen.

Katara pressed her water-coated hands to his lower chest to the star-shape and let the water seep into him. It flowed gently onto his ruined skin, cooling it, soothing it, as he gently sighed in minute relief. She softly reached out as she'd done dozens and dozens of times before and touched little faucets of energy that she perceived as glowing blue ribbons in her mind with small pulses. The water pushed and pulled gently, cleansing him, and she let herself smile softly as he weakly relaxed. The healing was _working..._

But something went wrong: the water stopped pushing and pulling; the pulses drooped like trampled, brown flowers; the water's blue glow faded. She remembered something like this, back under the dim green glow of Lake Laogai, placing her same hands on Jet's roughly woven tunic...

_I'll be fine._

_He's lying. _

_Quiet sobbing. _

_Zuko. _

She bit her lip. Something must be wrong with the water, then. It was dirty from the fighting, yes, of course. Everything'll be fine once she found a new source of water. She pulled some from the grates, repeating the motions, trying to find the cool and calm place in her mind that helped her heal...

The water rewarded her with a second's beam, but flickered and shut off like a blown-out lantern on calm night's breezes. Even before the water splashed uselessly onto the stone beneath her, she knew something was wrong.

"Zuko?"

She placed her head to his bare chest.

_I can't feel it, but that's fine, it's normal, sometimes I can't, I'll just check his pulse..._

Her small, slender fingers traced his cheek once, before moving to the side of his throat, pressing down carefully, firmly.

_Oh, Yue. _

Her mind suddenly flashed, and she was reliving the night where Yue's trembling but calm hands placed themselves on the dead Moon Spirit's form, as the fish shone as bright and luminously as candlelit pearls. Then Yue was slumping to the ground, Sokka was desperately catching and clutching her in his arms, and the Moon Spirit softly was slipping back into the oasis pond without a sound.

She turned her palms towards her face. She had failed as a healer; her limits were stretched, but could she...call upon the spirits? Ask them to bring him back?

But she recalled Yue's limp form, the soft singing as her body was carried off to sea, Arnook's red eyes and heavy way he carried himself, Sokka's quiet mourning when he saw the moon.

_What is the trade?_

She looked at his slightly closed eyes and limp form. She never told him that she fully forgave him, that she was thankful, that he was an idiot for jumping in the way of the lightning, that she had been a fool to rush in the open and cause this, that she had _known _he was a true powerful bender, a good friend. She found herself cross-legged in Aang's meditative position, remembering the scent of woodsmoke, the way his nose brushed her hair when they hugged, his roughened hair tickling her cheek on Appa, his bare skin and the silken threads of his clothes in the theater, his raspy voice that stumbled upon jokes but was excellent in battle strategy and teaching, the catlike grace as he bended fire...

_The trade doesn't matter._

It was like her healing, and she almost gasped. It was easier and quicker than falling asleep on the feather matresses on Ember Island when you were focused. She was quietly walking down a path before she knew what she was doing, and when she looked at herself, she paused for a moment. Her clothes were mending and being cleaned, her charred hair that had been seared off in the battle was regrowing as supple as silk, and her battle wounds were tranforming into silvery scars. A golden light appeared as she began to walk again and stopped in front of her. She looked and her eyes _burned, _but it was no doubt. It was described so many times by Aang and Zuko and depicted in many forms in the Fire Nation, but it was nothing compared to her wildest imagination.

_A dragon. _

"A real one." she murmured stupidly.

It smiled at her and words came out of its massive maw, and Katara was assaulted with odd almost whisperings...like fire. If fire could talk. Whisperings and snappings and crackles, but the words were as clear as glass. _Walk no further on the Path, daughter of Water. Come with me. Ride on my back. _

She blinked up at it. "Are you sure?" Zuko had told her stories of rare cases where young soldiers did ride dragons long ago and were regarded as holy warriors, revered for their connection with these mystical beings.

_It's a long walk to where your friend is. I do not mind. _

She bowed to it before clumsily climbing on. Flying on the dragon was not like Appa...there was little wind, and the dragon swished back and forth to fly, as if swimming. She clutched onto the scales and watched the ground below-_the Spirit World!-_speed into blurs of plains and bodies of water and trees. Before she knew it, they were ascending up a mountain that reminded her of the Southern Air Temple, deep furrows and openings carved into it like a strange hiding place. Faint golden glows occasionally flickered out of these, and the dragon chose one, causing Katara to duck her head before the ceiling hit her.

Inside was only a body, raised in the air in a lying-down position and glowing gold. _Zuko. _

His clothes were mending like hers, and when she hesitantly approached him, the lightning wound was faded into an almost invisible scar against his pale skin. And his _scar_...it was slowly fading, pale pink on his face. She reached out to touch him, to _feel _his solid body against her hand...

_Do not touch him, Katara. _

"I just need to..."

_No. _

The sternness in its voice stopped her arm, and she slowly pulled it back, turning to face the steady eyes of the watchful dragon, tail swishing like a cat-owl's.

_You've somehow called upon the spirits to bring this special person back. _

"Yes."

_Many have tried to bring back the dead, yet they do not know the toll, the cost. Some are arrogant enough to think both of them can return. _

"I...didn't think that." her voice squeaked in the still, silent place. "I only thought of him..."

_Only death may pay for life. But who are you to determine that your life can be exchanged for his?_

"I never...I don't mean to anger the spirits!" She shuddered and backed up against the wall, not knowing what else to do, trembling. _I only wanted to bring him back; I didn't know..._

The dragon closed in on her, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. She turned her face away as the hot steam from its nostrils blasted over her; it reminded her of a sparring trick Zuko did, except that he breathed fire out of his nose...

Katara closed her eyes as the dragon's jaws opened, waiting for an inevitable death by pouring, twisting fire directed at her face. _Be brave..._She looked at Zuko's face, imagining that his eyes were open, looking at her, giving her courage. A curl dangling in front of her face began to shrivel and turn black, smoke rising from it. Her skin began to perspire, and her eyes were tearing up; she wanted to close them, but she continued to look at Zuko, fighting as she would against sleep. _He'__ll be the last thing I'll ever see..._ She felt a swell rise up in her, remembering the firmness of his arms around her, trying to recapture the moment as she felt her skirt flare up in the_ heat... _

The heated breath left her, and she felt the presence retreat slightly from her personal space.

_But you knew of the sacrifice when you did this...you showed courage even when you were afraid...and you and this boy..._

The lamps of gold flickered from her to Zuko slowly; Katara held her breath. Something had changed in that moment, but what?

_I have reviewed your past and your present. You have a heart of true steel and silk, and for this, I reward you._

She gaped at it in pure astonishment, feeling emotion rise up, expanding from her chest and filling her lungs with unspoken song. "Thank you."

_But there is a cost, young one. _

She nodded bravely.

The dragon regarded her for a moment and gestured towards him with an enormous claw. _Touch him on the chest, Katara. _

The glow faded as her hand connected with his heart, and the room was suddenly falling away...

"Wait! Who are you?"

_Agni, dear one. God of fire, the maker of Firebenders. My blood runs through the Fire Nation nobility, but they have misused that power, over time. Zuko is the one who can redeem this. _

The plaza was back, the buildings burning and the stones still hot beneath their bodies, and Azula was screaming in the background, blue fire shooting into the red sky. Zuko opened his eyes in Katara's arms and slowly rasped, "Katara?"

"Zuko!" But even as they embraced, Katara still had a thought nagging in the back of her mind.

_What is the cost?_

* * *

_Notes:_

_Thanks to _Fullmetal Alchemist _for inspiring me. This was literally sitting blank for weeks on my laptop, so thank goodness for the untimely arrival of _FMA _by Netflix! _

_Yes, I totally stole 'Only death may pay for life' from _Game of Thrones.


	4. Chapter 4: Whimsical

**Day Four: Whimsical**

_(adj): Playfully unpredictable, esp. in an amusing way; acting/behaving in an odd manner._

"Guys, if Zuko wants have fun, then he'll have fun on his _own terms_." Katara scolded, crossing her arms at the fellow conspiracers seated around one of Fire Palace's storage rooms. Sokka was sitting on a block of wrapped cheese (thank the spirits it was _covered_) with the Gaang (minus Zuko) seated around him. Suki had a professional clipboard that Katara recognized from the hospital wing and was taking notes. Peering over at it, she saw a sketch of Zuko's face, notes, and bold, printed caligraphy of _The First Offical Meeting of How to Get Grumpy Pants Fire Lord to Have Some Fun, AKA H.T.G.G.P.F.L.T.H.S.F. _The Waterbender guessed the complicated acroymn was her brother's idea and pinched the upper bridge of her nose; it looked as if Zuko's bad habit was rubbing off on her.

"His idea of fun is sparring." Sokka rolled his eyes. "Not that I don't enjoy a good spar to get the blood pumping, but it seems that old ex-Fire Lord Ozai taught Conquering the Nations 101 instead of _fun_." Suki noted his saracastic comment on her clipboard, and Katara felt her eyebrow twitch.

"Relax, Katara," Aang said from his perch on his airball. "we're just trying to get Zuko to loosen up. He didn't even know what hide-and-seek _was _back at Ember Island."

Toph shook her head. "That was just _sad._"

"Zuko had to be forced to plan his own birthday celebration by his _uncle __and the council. _When the Council of Elderly Hot-Air Balloons want to plan a festival, you know it's bad. He's been holed up in his office and the meeting room all day in his stiff Fire Lord robes. Zuko just needs to relax. It's his birthday. Everyone should have fun on their birthday, Katara." Sokka simply said. Katara sighed silently. As foolish as the idea sounded at first, Sokka was right. All that stress wasn't too healthy for Zuko, and his birthday was a cause to let other people take charge for once.

Katara nodded reluctantly. "What were your ideas, Sokka?"

Sokka brightened up at his sister's participation. "Well, we should make him dress as a commoner, so he doesn't feel like the Fire Lord. I mean, after the big speech and stuff on the balcony, he should just change and run around the festival. The problem is...convincing him to go to the actual festival part."

"Sparky listens to Sugar Queen; he'll go if she asked him to." Toph blurted out with a smug look on her face. Katara felt herself blush angrily in the darkened room at her implications. She and Aang had broken up just two weeks ago, so their relationship was a bit awkward but friendly. Now Aang was looking away and twiddling his thumbs, and Suki was glancing at him in slight concern.

Sokka didn't seem to realize what Toph's remark had set off. "All right, team. Once Katara asks Zuko to the festival, we're a go!"

* * *

Katara knocked on Zuko's office door, announcing herself. This was stupid, she told herself. She wasn't technically asking him out; she was doing it as a friend. As part of Sokka's plan. Not that she wouldn't want to, but it wasn't the point. The point was-

"Hey, Katara, I said you could come in." Zuko called back in amusement.

"Yes." She said with as much dignity as she could muster. As previously described by Sokka, Zuko was in his full Fire Lord costume in case of a visitor, scribbling his signature on dozens of scrolls. Katara strolled over to open a window, peering over his shoulder.

"Hello, Zuko. Festival preparations?"

He smiled warmly at her, but glowered at the paperwork with hatred only reserved for choice members of the council, Ozai supporters, assassins, and the Ember Island Players. "Agni, yes. When I was a child, the most I was expected to do was to show up and look gracious when I got my presents, but _Agni. _When they tell you that you can plan your entire party, it _sounds _good, but _Agni. __Agni. _Tell me, Katara..." He held up two pieces of fabric for her inspection. "Fire Nation Pride or Heart's Blood?"

Katara winced at the patriotic choice names. "Um, don't they look the same?"

"Not to the Royal Decorating Committee. And no one takes _oh no, it's your choice _as an answer, _Agni." _Zuko sighed in frutration. "I've been thinking about handing it off to Uncle or the Council, but Uncle would make it ridiculously extravagant, as if I was dying or something. And the Council would turn it into a patriotic bash and piss off the other nations. I'm telling you, I didn't want a party like this. I just wanted a dinner with you and my friends and Uncle, but the Fire Lord's birthday has to be celebrated in a grand affair..." He threw a scroll into a pile and heaved another sigh.

Katara touched his shoulder. "Zuko, about your birthday, I was wondering, I wanted to-"

Zuko suddenly stopped her and shook his head. "Katara, I know what this is about."

She paused. That was enough to throw her for a few seconds. "You do?" Did he overhear the meeting? She began to feel her cheeks grow hot.

"Yes." Zuko smiled softly. "You don't _have _to get me a present, Katara. You saved my life; you don't-"

_"Wait." _The Waterbender stepped back. "This wasn't about _gifts."_

_"Oh." _Zuko gaped at her in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I thought-"

"No!" Katara exclaimed, thinking _Oh, this is not going well; this is going so wrong. _"I mean, why don't you go to the festival with me?"

Pause. _Tui and La, I should just go. Or throw myself out the window._

* * *

"Sugar Queen, you did it." Toph handed her a glass of pineapple juice in their hideout storage room. Suki had jotted out the good news, and everyone was passing out cold beverages in celebration of the completion of Phase One. Katara groaned and downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"He said _yes_!" Sokka cheered and jumped up and down like a teenage noblewoman. "Yes!"

"Man, it's like you got engaged or something." Suki muttered to a mortified Katara.

* * *

White, twinkling lights were strung aroung booths and rides like large fireflies, the smell of sizzling and roasting meats with the occasional sweet and sticky treat permeating the air. Nuts and bolts of rides cranked along with sungi horns and countless other Fire Nation instruments only Zuko and Aang could name. Vendors shoved their wares and cried out prices, competing with a nearby troupe of actresses parodying childbirth.

"I have to say," Katara commented as she tossed two coppers into their donation pot. "that was pretty accurate."

Zuko pulled up his hood even more over his head as they passed through another busy crowd to meet Uncle Iroh at a nearby restaurant. Sokka pushed through the swinging doors as they stared at the old general as he stood atop of a wooden table playing a sungi horn, surrounded by other patrons.

"_...and the hedgehog couldn't be bothered at all!" _

"Oh, _Agni." _Zuko swore. "I told Uncle not to drink too much, but did he listen? No..." Katara giggled as Zuko stalked over like an overbearing parent towards his uncle to pull him off the table, not noticing the exchange between her brother and the bartender.

"Hey," Sokka nodded to Iroh, who was angrily protesting of being removed from his stage. "what did he just have?"

* * *

_"And the tea bush said 'leaf me alone; I'm bushed!'" _the restaurant patrons roared as the Fire Lord (not known to them) slurred out his latest joke. Katara stared, horrified at this new turn of events. Her friends weren't helping; Sokka was cheering Zuko on and sloshing his fire whisky vigourously as if slashing a sword while Toph was roaring with laughter. Iroh was clapping in a befuddled sort of haze, and Aang was staring in lost puzzlement over his state. Suki was simply watching with her mouth agog, mug of beer slightly sloshed in her loosened fist.

Zuko took another swig from his cup of tea and yelled, _"Eleuin!"_ This seemed to start a cue from a group of musicians in a corner, and the Firebender began to either dance or imitate an oristrich-horse with a broken leg sliding on ice.

At this point, Katara put two and two together and pinned Sokka in a flash to the wooden wall with twenty ice daggers. Some drunken men cheered; she was too angry bask briefly in it, however.

_"What did you give him?" _

Sokka looked around for help, but he was in the same predicament as Katara had been in; everyone was ignoring him in favor of watching Zuko's antics. He whimpered when a particularly sharp dagger landed within a hairline's distance from the side of his eye.

"Just...some..._tea_, little sister." he smiled, but her glare, so similiar to Gran Gran's when she caught him eating the winter's supply of dried seal-jerky when he was eight, silenced him, along with the icicle pointed between his eyes.

"Really,_ now?"_ She brandished the weapon lightly with the edges of her fingertips as Zuko did a particularly high kick over his head that should have popped his hip if he was any older as the band played in a more urgent tone.

_"It was alcohol, the kind that has to be served in thimble-sized cups, but I slipped and-"_

"I heard enough." Katara felt a rumbling at the back of her throat, and Sokka struggled when her icy projectile went right through his wolf-tail and through the plank wall. There was more drunken cheering, but Katara ignored it as she yanked her stumbling friend off the table (now there were decisive _boos_) and headed for the closest exit.

* * *

Katara knew what to do when a woman's water broke and everyone around her had no idea what to do. She knew how to control a boat during a thunderstorm and call out directions for the crew. She knew which plants would help if Sokka mistook what he thought was parsley for something that would cause a night of the shakes and vomiting. She knew a variety of ways to heal different types of wounds with or without Waterbending. She even knew the names and functions for the ten-thousand portions of bowing and court games and forks and fake courtesy and gestures and nonsense in different nation's courts.

Controlling a drunken Firebender that had a cupful of strong alcohol was something she had failed to learn. A huge oversight on her part, but she vowed to come back to berated herself once she caught the damn Firebender.

Yes. _Catching._ She _lost _him.

Her silver hairpins were strewn all around the festival grounds, so her hair was constantly in her eyes and she had to shove it behind her ears so masses of brown didn't hinder her vision. Her skirt luckily was short enough to run in and had little slits so she could, but her high heels were not made for chasing intoxicated friends. Worst of all, she couldn't just kick them off and continue running with them dangling from her hands; the ground had various litter already covering the ground, and she had visions of glass and caramel goo eternally stuck in her feet forever. She would have cursed, but she was already making a scene anyway.

She finally found him, of all places, in the Ramaging Komodo Rhino Coaster line. Calmly waiting. She wanted to _kill_ him.

"Tara," he slurred and waved at her. His coordination had not improved, and it whacked an old man in the head. He looked at his hand in complete bewilderment, stroked it, and suddenly began to rotate it before his face.

"We need to _go _now." She glared at him as he began to move forward in the line, tripping over a package of empty fire gummies.

"But I bought a ticket!" he wailed, then laughed. "_Ticket._ That's funny. Tic-tic-tic-tic-"

Katara wanted to stomp her foot, but it wouldn't help the situation. "I. Do. Not. Care. We are going, _now!" _

_"NO!"_

"Miss, do you have a ticket?" the attendant asked her, ushering the happy Fire Lord into the red car. He waved cheekily at her, and she felt her face turn an unhealthy shade of the two swatches of fabric Zuko had shown her.

"No, I do _not_, and get him _off!_ He is in no state to be-"

"She doesn't need...a..." Zuko stopped, clearly confused.

"Ticket?" The person behind her suggested helpfully. Katara closed her eyes and prayed for patience.

_"Yes!_ Cause Ah-m-" Katara wanted to hide her face as Zuko whipped off his hood, revealing his own to about sixty people in the line. She was at least thankful it was such a small number. And that no one they personally knew was standing there. She would run away and leave Zuko to fend for himself otherwise.

"Oh, no need to explain, sir!" the attendant immediately strapped her in beside Zuko, while the people were pointing and gaping at the two of them. She was glad that they weren't laughing now. They probably would, once they were out of sight, though.

"Excuse me, but-"

"Three!"

"Get us off, I don't-"

"Two!"

"_Listen to me-"_

_"One!"_

The car cranked to life and slowly began to ascend up the hill built by, in Katara's opinion, dangerous, rickety rails. She wondered if the creaky noises were intentional, or if the ride would collapse as soon as they reached the top. Sweat clung the the safety bar, and she didn't dare let go to wipe her palms off on her dress. Zuko, beside her, was cheering obliviously. This was stupid, she told herself. She had ridden plenty of times on Appa and on gliders and airships and balloons. What was there to be afraid of? She would look down at the top and laugh at her pure stupidity!

Big mistake.

She gulped, her heart hammering. It was _such _a long way down...

"Zuko, this was_ not_ a good idea..."

"Katara, look! I can see the Palace from up here!"

_"Fuck you."_

That was the last coherent thing she said before the car plunged downwards.

Katara screamed, feeling as if she could set a world record for having her throat feel like shredded meat in less than five seconds. Her hair streamed behind her and her golden bracelets clanked against the rail and her wrists as the car vibrated up and down as it continued its fall. The wind was peeling off her skin and was rushing into her open mouth. She felt terrified and felt like crying.

Zuko, of course, had no such fears. He was yelping what could pass as crazed war cries combined with Azula's insane laughter. His fists were pumping in the air as they went up and down _three times_. He waved as they passed another pass within _ten inches _on another track while Katara hurled outside the vechile. He called out what was coming next, causing Katara to have panic attacks _before _it happened. He even had the _nerve _to turn to her and cheerfully sing, "Isn't this fun, Katara?"

She would have hit him, but her hands were slipping on the safety bar, and she was _not _letting go.

_Oh spirits, is that...?_

_"UPSIDE DOWN! SPINNING AROUND!" _Zuko began to chant as they started up the loop-de-loop, and Katara felt like hurling again. She thought looking down hundreds of feet from the top was bad; looking down from hundreds of feet _upside down_ was worse. The ride finally halted, but...why were they not in front of the steps and crowd?

The machine began to groan and the wheels began to clikety-clack against the wheels, and Katara felt herself hurtling _backwards _as Zuko began to try to dance again to the music the band was playing below them.

* * *

_"I hate you." _

Zuko blinked as the Waterbender rolled over in her bed and ignored the breakfast tray that was held out to her. "Did you get the alcohol, too?"

Katara's scream of rage could be heard from beyond the Palace gates, where the workers were wheeling away the Rampaging Komodo Rhino Coaster.

* * *

_Notes:_

_Iroh's hedgehog song was from emletish's wonderful **Stalking Zuko** series. If you haven't read any of it, then review here and immediately go to her page and read her work. _

_Sokka and Zuko I suppose fit the requirement. This prompt was a doozy. _


	5. Chapter 5: Heartstrings

**Day Five: Heartstrings**

The healer pressed her hands once more to the boy's pale, bony chest, the water dimly glowing in the fading light of the torches. Katara stood rigidly, clenching her husband's arm in worry and fear, her dark hair scattered around her hair and down her back. She was drawing in long breaths, trembling and clenching her jaw as the Water Tribe healer wrinkled her forehead and moved along various chi paths. A group of doctors were around the boy and the Royal Family, solemn-faced.

Zuko looked away as the elderly Waterbender stood up and shook her head, her beads softly clicking together in her braids.

"I'm so sorry, but your son...there's a problem with his heart. A fatal one. He will not make it through the night."

The boy's mother cried out _"No"_ and rushed to his bedside, stroking back his brown locks with one hand and looking wildly up at them.

"Please, give me water; I can try again." Katara begged. Zuko's heart clenched as a servant did as her lady ordered, and Katara frantically began pushing her small, roughened hands onto her son's heart. Tears were falling thick and fast from her cerulean eyes as she spoke to him, conjuring memories and wishes as he lay completely still, except for shallow breaths.

She was moving her fingers in quiet, but jerking motions. Bloodbending. Roku gasped twice, but Katara didn't pause. Zuko realized he was sitting on a cushion, his page offering him a cup of water—"you fainted a little, milord, from exhaustion." The water was back, but Katara was now steadily biting her lip as her water-gloved hands trembled over the paths of the chi. Sweat beaded on her brow, but then, the glow stopped and the light died.

"Roku,_ spirits..."_ Katara finally stopped, the water flopping back into the bowl. She turned to Zuko, eyes glistening like snow in the sunlight with crystal tears. Her shoulders shook. The doctors were turning away, filing out respectfully to give the couple privacy. Zuko knelt beside her, then touched his son's cheek. Cold pierced his fingers and palm, but he did not pull away. He tried to warm up his palms, to bring the flush back into the once chubby cheeks, but it was no use. Dawn was breaking through the windows, but Zuko only felt weariness and agony this time.

"What's wrong with Roku, Daddy?"

A small girl was clutching a stuffed turtleduck in the doorway of the healing wing. Zuko turned in dismay—_oh, Azura, no_—and could only watch as she scampered towards her frail brother on the white cot.

"Roku!" she clutched his hand and shook it. "Roku! Can you hear me? I want you to help me feed the turtleducks! Please!" She turned her round face towards him, dark blue eyes the same shade as Sokka's pleading at Zuko. "Daddy, make him wake up!"

Zuko looked once at his shaking wife and back at his daughter, closing his eyes. _"Azura..."_

"He can't play with me if he doesn't wake up! Roku wanted to build a house for the mama turtleduck today! Why isn't he waking up? Roku! _Roku!"_ she began to wail and cry, without fully understanding the reason why. Zuko's arms shook as he embraced her, her face burying into his broad chest, her sobs not muffling. Her small hand was still clutching Roku's as the sun rose higher in the sky.


	6. Chapter 6: Faded

**Day Six: Faded**

"Coronation speech—simple, to the point, perfect!" Iroh skims over the parchment with knobbed hands and a grin. His nephew, ready in full Fire Lord regalia, stands behind him in relief with the Avatar in traditional Air Nomad robes beside him. Aang was absentmindedly snacking on the lychee nuts in the small bowl next to him, while Zuko was pacing and rehearing one of his speeches to himself. Zuko looked up.

"You think so, Uncle?" Zuko asks brightly, tucking back loose locks of hair from the crown of his forehead.

"Stop moving, Zuko, it's great!" Aang agreed, bobbing his head enthusiastically. "It's going to be perfect!"

"I hope so." the young man answered pessimistically. "Extra guards and food taste-testers on the premises, the master schedule with the gongs, the feast and the toasts, the Agni-cursed seating arrangements—"

"Calm down," Iroh soothed him, guiding him to a futon near a window and pushing a cup of tea into his hands. "Drink."

Zuko follows his uncle's advice, while Aang perches on his air-scooter to wait. Iroh starts to make small-talk about an adventure involving a hedgehog-pig and a cask of wine, and Aang cheerfully laughs in all the right places, while Zuko starts rapidly shaking his right knee up and down. He clenches it with his hand and starts muttering his toast speech, but Iroh kindly fills up his teacup again and tells him to let him finish. The men start to hear the sounds of arriving guests murmuring in the courtyard, and Zuko becomes a bit paler at the sound of this.

"Why don't we close the window?" he suggests tensely, setting down the cup on a table and turning back around to close the window.

There's a sudden pause, a change in the air that make Iroh and Aang stop talking. Zuko then softly closes the window as if nothing happened and quickly walks out of the room.

"Zuko?" Aang calls out in worry. "The coronation is about to start in a few—" He takes off after Iroh, following Zuko into a random bedroom. It was clearly a girl's room—a scattered assortment of jewelry was on the vanity table with a finely carved mirror and a wooden wardrobe on the left side.

"Um, Zuko—" Aang has seen his friend in distress before, but this was an odd room to hide in. Imagine the _looks_ they would get if they were caught in a random lady's bedroom! "Zuko, I don't—"

Zuko pulls open the drawer and scavenges around, knocking aside a few more trinkets and a plain whalebone comb. Aang sucked in a breath. Katara's room. He shoots a desperate look at Iroh—_what the heck should we do?_—but Iroh shrugs helplessly. A small, round container the color of a raven-crow's father's is snatched and the drawer hastily slammed shut. Zuko curses as the lid twists awkwardly, but he prises it off with a jerk that sent the lid flying under the bed.

His pale fingers jab into the soft, yielding powder and dab at his red scar, rubbing it in furiously. The white powder is so fine that Zuko is adding countless layer upon layer upon the roughened, burned flesh, but the scar isn't disappearing much at all. Harsh breaths are the only thing to be heard in the quiet room as the scar fades slowly into bright pink.

Aang stands there, feeling embarrassed and not sure what to do for his friend and teacher, and his uncle looks...sad. They don't try to stop him, don't say anything—what can they say now?

"No." Zuko throws the powder down to the carpeted floor, white dust smashing and blowing all over the rich red curtains and colorful robes. Iroh looks startled, and Aang jumps as if he's in trouble again back at Western Air Temple Firebending practice. The soon-to-be-crowned Fire Lord turns to the two, the pinkish scar glaring at them in the late morning sun.

"I can't, I just." Zuko buries his face in his hands and crashes his elbows down into the vanity table. There's such a long silence that Aang feels startled when a water whip splashes him sharply on his head.

_"What_ are you—Aang? Iroh? Zuko? What—" Katara seems to take in the basic situation in one moment and gives out orders as easily as if it's a spilled pot of rice. "Iroh, tell the sages to stall. Aang, wait in the lobby. I'll see what the matter is."

They leave, and Katara bends down to fix the untidy strands on his hair. She works in silence, ready to hear him when he wishes to speak. When she finishes with her task, she plucks a bead she had come back for and places it elegantly in her hair, looking at it in the mirror. He lifts his face to watch, and she softly gasps.

"Zuko..."

He hangs his head. "Katara."

"Don't try to erase yourself." she murmurs, leaning into him.

"I—" he sighs. "The general who caused this will be there. The people who know, the people who don't, they'll be there. Look at me. The disgraced prince in their eyes. I've seen their looks during court, out in town. I'm a monster. Not a lord. I'm not ready, Katara."

"You're a hero. One with honor and courage and love." She traces his chest in a thoughtful way. "A monster wouldn't save a worthless peasant from lightning or give up his throne, his life, to do what was right."

"You're not worthless." He protests softly.

"Hm, am I going to be the Fire Lord? I'm just a girl from the Southern Water Tribe who just was lucky to find the Avatar and learn Waterbending. After the war, I still don't have a plan of what I was going to do. Your destiny was to be Fire Lord, the one who will being an era of great peace."

"You are not worthless." he repeats. He looks away. "This scar is just...it makes me feel...like something is wrong. It's revolting. The royal painter asked me if I wanted to turn my head or erase it from—_Agni!"_ He curses. "Agni damn him!"

"Zuko!" The table he's clutching is smoking, and she gently but firmly escorts his hands from the finely carved wood. He heaves a long, shuddering gasp, and stares at the small, dark mark made on the piece of furniture.

"I'm sorry; I'll replace it." he apologizes, feeling guilty.

"No, it's not noticeable." Katara reassures him, but this seems to provoke him again, but in a softer way. He reaches out with his hand, slowly, towards her cheek, eyes analytical and searching. She blinks and doesn't move.

"You—" he finally places his fingertips on the side of her face. She holds still, breath still. "are perfect. I'm...not."

She held his palm against her skin and looks down at the spilled powder. The wind from the open window stirs a bit of it and whirls it around in a small spinning vortex. A few land on her hand, and she quietly studies them for a moment as Zuko slumps in silence.

"I'm not perfect, Zuko."

"You are. You're so strong, brave, confident..."

"No. I'm not."

He doesn't exactly draw back, but he twitches a bit and his hand glides backwards in surprise. "What?"

She worries her lip between her teeth. "I still have nightmares over my mother's death and hate that man for killing her. I was shaking with fear when I placed my hands on Aang's dead body in Ba Sing Se and recently when you were struck down by Azula. My heart raced every day when we were on the run and hiding from the Fire Nation. I thought about running away, or dying, when life was hard. And do you know why I have the powder?"

He shakes his head. He remembers her coming with a little of it in the early days of moving into the palace, but that's all. He assumed every woman in the palace had some beauty supplies in their dresser or somesuch.

"When I came to Court...some of the women, and the men...they...made fun. Not directly_. _But I could hear them, and they knew it. Toph's great; she doesn't care as much. But...it hurt. So I thought if I tried to look more Fire Nation...but it didn't work. They made fun even _more, _because they knew they bothered me. So I stopped. Plus, Sokka said that I looked like a snow spirit." She tried to laugh, but it was soft and caught a little in her throat.

His voice was quiet. "I didn't know; I should've..."

"Court is like that; I understand." Katara reaches over and rests her hand on his knee. He ached to have done something earlier and just a few moments ago. She was comforting _him, _of all things. "Everyone feels like they need to change because what others think, but I've see the man who you've become. You are not a man with a burn scar. You are Zuko. This does not add or take away anything from you. This is you."

She picks up her handkerchief and pours some of her water onto it, outstretching it in a silent plea. He nods, and the water washes the powder away in slow, gentle strokes.


	7. Chapter 7: Seasons

**Day Seven: Seasons**

_Winter_

"Avoid the sea prunes," Aang whispered, covering his mouth with his hand as Katara came to the ice slab that served as a table. The hall was filled with laughter, conversation, and even song that startled Zuko on his first night here on a diplomatic to the Southern Water Tribe. It completely contrasted to the quiet, stiff, and murmured back-handed comments of Fire Nation banquets.

"Why?" Zuko hissed back as Katara plopped down between them, rolling her eyes at Sokka's joke. Her hair was in a traditional Water Tribe bun and braided hair loops in honor of her home land, which Zuko could see clearly because her blue parka's hood was down. He shivered again and took a long drag of the hot, spiced wine. The red parka that was especially made for him with elaborate stitching helped some with the fur-lined inside, but he was still shaking like a leaf in the wind sometimes.

"Hey, Aang, Zuko!" She took some of the fish onto her already-filled plate. "Enjoying the Winter Solstice Feast?"

"Good." Aang muttered unconvincingly. The Water Tribe cuisine was not kind to vegetarians—the only things he really could stomach were the seaweed, various fungi, bread, and imported food from the other nations. The sea prunes were shoved as far away from him as possible.

"I love the fish." Zuko replied. Water Tribe food was very salty and fishy, but comforting—a change from the zingers and spices the Fire Nation had. Katara had prepared some Water Tribe food during his short stay with the Gaang, so he was used to it. Katara's fish was her best dish—it was stuffed with various herbs and was crunchy and tender in the right places.

Katara beamed at him, but frowned at his plate. "Zuko, how can you enjoy the best of what the Water Tribe has to offer if you don't have sea prunes on your plate?"

At this point, Aang was shoving his food as fast as he could down his throat to avoid having the conversation drawn to him, and Zuko found himself lost in the sea of giving refusal.

"Katara, I—" He looked at her blue eyes, indignant and pleading, and instantly found himself sinking into the bottom of that sea. "think you're right."

Katara smiled at him and grabbed his plate, proceeding the shovel five spoonfuls of sea prunes onto it. Aang whipped his face around in exaggerated horror and gave Zuko a look of sympathetic pain. Zuko shrugged and raised his eyebrow in a look of "what the hell was/am I supposed to do?" The Airbender signaled to the pets of the dogs roaming around with their owners and quickly turned around to stuff his face with seaweed salad as Katara handed Zuko his plate with a look of satisfaction.

The Fire Lord gulped. This was not hard. It was like eating his peas when he was a child. Just gobble them up as fast as you can and wash them all down with some milk—or now, more spiced wine. No big deal. If he could distract Katara for a bit if they really were bad, he could perhaps attract one of the dogs and slip them some new treats. Or slip them onto her plate if she turned around, like Azula used to. She had enough; she wouldn't notice.

Aang was peeking at him with an expression appropriate at a funeral of a close friend as he lifted a spoonful towards his lips. Katara was eagerly smiling at him. He put it his half-yielding mouth.

They were warm. That was the good part. But—

The texture was wrinkly and smooth all at once that reminded Zuko of the time he spotted his uncle in the hot springs. If that wasn't enough to trigger to gag reflex, the sauce the sea prunes were in was slippery and slimy that brought to mind unpleasant memories of coughing up phlegm during the month of Fire Fever when he was seven. When he actually had to bite into them (he couldn't just chew once and swallow), the skins fell apart in his mouth like eggplant and the insides tasted like rotten tofu tossed in sour soy sauce. All of this came to him in a span of fifteen seconds.

His first reflex was to spit them out, gulp down the nearest wine, eat some more fish, and toss the whole bowl away from him. Preferably across the room.

Of course, logic and common sense kicked in as he was still chewing, the points being:

1. As Fire Lord visiting the village he had destroyed about a year or so ago on diplomatic relations, which included living with the Water Tribe, it would reflect badly on him and his nation.

2. Katara would kill him, which might restart the war.

3. Katara would look hurt, then pretend not to be, and not speak to him for several days. In the time where he needed her expertise in the customs in the Water Tribes.

He was going to make more numbers, but he had to swallow, Agni damnit, so he forced himself to. Aang was looking at him in horror and pity, while gesturing to the wine. Katara was smiling brightly at him as he finished.

"Did you like them?"

He forced a grin. "Katara, they were very..." He searched for the right word. Interesting? A new experience? Flavorful? Bracing? "...lovely." She was _looking_ at him again with pleading and shining eyes and her wide smile, so he was forced to take another bite. And another. And another. This was how he ended up with an empty plate and a horrible twisiting in his bowels.

"Oh, I _knew _you'd love them!" She was now shoving the platter towards him, and Zuko was forcing himself not to back away. _Agni, no. _Aang was shaking his head. He spotted the musicians taking up their instruments and Arnuk opening his mouth to sing, so he jumped up at the chance, but regretted it once his stomach turned in a roil upside down. "Why don't we dance?"

She looked surprised, but took his hand with a quiet "Okay" and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor.

They ended up dancing almost the entire night to avoid the rest of the banquet, and Zuko was up the rest emptying himself of the poisonous sea prunes, but the Fire Lord left the Water Tribe with a sense of inner peace.

_Spring _

"Happy New Year!" Zuko fingered his own red envelope, remembering how his mother used to give him one every year before she left, filled with small candies. Katara was trying not to tear hers open, careful to not ruin the delicate paper with the carefully hand-painted golden dragon and firecrackers, but Sokka had ripped the top of his open and had upended the candy right into his mouth.

"How about we go clothes shopping?" Suki was saying, with a groan from the boys and Toph.

"How will new clothes fool the evil spirits anyway, Fan Girl?" Toph muttered, but she dutifully followed Suki into the largest open shopping district in the Fire Nation marketplace. Zuko grabbed the first robe and pant set he saw off the rack, which was red with one gold dragon across the front with black pants. He paid for it and slumped onto a nearby chair while he watched the others try on new clothes. Aang grabbed a cheerful orange one with embroidered bamboo, while Sokka was more choosier and chose a dark blue one with a silver koi on the right side. Toph, despite the shopkeeper's protests, got a dark green boy's tunic with fancy gold dragons ("Dragons are for boys, young lady!"), while Suki chose a light green dress with golden peonies.

"How do I look?"

Zuko looked up for the thousandth time to say "You look great" to an annoyed Katara, but stopped. She had a rich red dress on with short sleeves and a high collar, with tiny, blue flower pipings that started from the...chest up. A slit ran up to the bend of her knee, exposing her bare leg and foot. She smiled nervously at the silent Fire Lord and turned for him. "Well?"

He snapped out of it...whatever "it" was. "You look...you look..." _Say something! _He ran though his list, but found nothing, not realizing that his jaw was pushing down his high collar almost to his collarbone.

She smiled unassumingly at him. "I'll take it, then."

They linked arms and strolled out just in time: the parade had started with loud clashes of rhythmic cymbals, and colorful painted dragons wove in and out, causing the nearby crowds to cheer. Zuko watched the floats began to roll down the street; it was the year of the dragon, so a paper-mache dragon covered in flowers with a gaping mouthful of false flames that blew in the wind made the audiences once more burst into applause and yells. Children were tossing pea-sized packages in the streets, which exploded with a sharp _pop!, _and mothers and fathers were trying to yank them back as the paraders good-naturedly dodged the projectiles and children.

"Where is the Gaang?" Katara wondered as she stood up on her toes in exasperation. "They just ran off and left us behind!"

"You look too long shopping," Zuko muttered, but eyed her again secretely. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Come on, I know a shortcut to our assigned seats at the palace." They were immediately off, kicking up firecracker derbis and festival food between their shoes as Katara pulled him through a series of alleys and warehouses. They were mostly empty because of the parade, but they did knock over an old man with a cart of cabbages_-"MY CABBAGES!"-_and nearly did the same to a shopkeeper hauling watermelons. They stopped in a little nook to rest for a bit (and to hide from the old man who was wailing about his damaged cabbages) when Katara heard high, broken sobbing.

"Hush, Zuko, listen." She scolded, as if Zuko was talking (the silent Fire Lord scowled a bit). She cautiously walked towards the sound, where she found a small boy clutching a dragon costume in his little hands. "What's wrong?"

"I...g-got lost. And I f-f-f-fell and twisted (sniff) my ankle..." he whimpered. Katara took him into her arms and hugged the child, stroking his dark hair soothingly. Zuko stood near her awkwardly; he really knew nothing about comforting crying people and left that job to his friend, who seemed to be calming the little boy down bit by bit.

"Do you know where your family is?"

"They're...(sniff) in the p-parade." Katara nodded as she drew her healing water out of her waterskin and pressed it against the swollen ankle. The boy stopped sobbing long enough to stare in awe as the water glowed a pale blue and helped speed the recovery.

"You've never seen Waterbending healing before?" she asked sweetly. He shook his head shyly and turned to look at Zuko.

"Who's that?"

"That's my friend, Zuko." Zuko waved weakly, and the boy grinned toothily at him. "Now, your ankle is still a bit weak. Are you okay with Zuko giving you a piggy-back ride back to the parade to look for your family?"

She had evidently hit the right spot: the boy beamed in delight, and when Zuko knelt down in the street, he clambered up like an eager hog-monkey for lychee nuts with his shiny gold dragon costume over his small head, and Katara led the way back to the cheerful music and drums. She was looking around for the descriptions that the boy had given to her, turning back to look to see if she'd lost her charges, and smiled softly, nearly coming to a halt to watch them.

Zuko had shown the boy how to use the blinking eyes by pulling a small, red thread on the side that had a simple gold bead dangling from it, and the child was eagerly yanking on it as if life depended on it. He was also waving eagerly at the crowd, who was cooing at the adorable child perched on the Fire Lord's shoulders. The crowd seemed a bit surprised to see said royal toting around a little Earth Kingdom boy wearing a dragon with the decorative banners streaming behind them in the breeze, but they were smiling notheless. It was a sight everyone had whispered about for days before the Gaang departed from the Earth Kingdom, and the boy's family listened for months with disbelief as the small one eagerly waved his arms in retelling how the Fire Lord had given him a piggy-back ride all through the parade.

_Summer_

Sokka eagerly grabbed the bag of fire flakes, and Katara sighed at her brother as he managed to shove a handful through his grinning mask that the vendor boasted represented the terrible demon _oni_. It didn't fit Sokka's personality at all, as the festival tradition prescribed, but she supposed it was because of Sokka's occasional bursts of proving his testosterone level was as high as the Air Temples. Right now, it was slightly askew, making it look more ridiculous than before.

"Sokka, do you remember the last Fire Days Festival?" she asked wearily as she chose a porcelain mask decorated with silvery and sapphire swirls that intertwined across the cheeks and nose. It was free, of course, and she carefully tied it back so her hair didn't get woven into the knot.

"I've built up an immunity to these, sis-_ohmyspirits, water."_ he grabbed a glass of mango punch right out of Suki's hand (she shook her head in disbelief and amusement) and gulped it down.

"Not to Volcano Level ones." Zuko smirked, popping a handful through his regal, yet simple red and gold mask. Katara knew Sokka was glaring at him, and she giggled as her brother stomped away in pursuit of less spicy Fire Nation treats, like the new, puffy spun sugar that melted in your mouth. Suki sighed and clambered after Sokka ("You dropped your money pouch, Sokka!"). Katara realized she was alone with Zuko again and wondered about the small, eager feeling in her chest when this came to her.

Tsungi horns wove in with the pipas and yueqins in a nearby cleared area for dancing, where red lanterns were tastefully set here and there and a crowd was watching and occasionally stepping (or being pulled) in. She was drawn in by the pounding feet and was then dancing again with Zuko, pale hands set closely on her hips as they wildly stomped and spun to the beat of the drums and chants. They eventually had to stop when the music did past midnight, but she had laid awake with her heart set to the beat of the drums and glowing like the warmth of Zuko's body against hers. It was a surprise to her when he asked her to dance; of course, he had to dance with ambassadors and ladies of the court during balls as playing the part of a gracious Fire Lord, but she knew it was custom, and they always chatted while they danced, anyway. But he _asked _her. She kept repeating it everytime she remembered it, like a childhood story, but pinched herself for being so silly.

"That looks like fun," she found herself commenting as the people cheered, and a lady flipped in the air expertly almost as well as Ty Lee, her skirt and hair swinging in the golden glow of the lanterns. The music never really seemed to end; if the song itself stopped, it smoothly transitioned into a new song so fast that no one seemed to notice. Well, most of them wouldn't notice if the festival burned down by the looks of them and the copiuos amounts of wine that flowed freely. She herself had been offered at least ten of the choicest (or so they claimed) wines in the Fire Nation since she set foot in the festival grounds. One of these days she was sure that Firebenders would realize that they shouldn't be so close to this much wine, but so far, they were only mostly sloppily stumbling and cheering. Most were staring at the fire dancing display that swirled over their heads as a troupe of gifted Firebenders rolled and ducked and leapt and kicked with showy tricks, such as a memorable dragon that opened its mouth to gobble them up, until it burst into a thousand sparkles.

"Oh, I suppose." Zuko replied diplomatically, though she noticed he was shrinking away from the music. "I don't really dance."

"You danced with me a few months ago at the Winter Solstice." she retorted playfully, but her eyes gave it away as something special to her.

A strange look crossed Zuko's face. _Right. If I reveal I only did that to distract her from giving me more sea prunes, she'd kill me._ A small voice popped up to add: _You liked it, too, though. _

"Zuko, are you okay? Did you taste something odd in your food again? Should I call for the guards-"

"No, I'm fine. I just..._ahem, _bit my tongue. Of course, I remember. It was...nice."

She was _looking at him _again, in that pleading vein that took him back to the Water Tribe with the big bowl of sea prunes and the upset stomach. But this time, he wasn't going through another list of risks or looking around for escape routes. He just sighed and took her small hand in his. "All right."

_Fall_

The moon hung like a lit lantern, warm orange like the sunset and very round and big like a crisp pastry crust. It was quiet this time around in the restored Southern Air Temple. Aang was perched on the highest rooftop, staring at the moon, clutching his sticky mooncake in his cupped hands. Sokka was in a similar position in the meditation plaza, where his head was nestled in the curve of Suki's lap as she quietly rested her hand on his head. Toph and Iroh were drinking jasmine tea in the courtyard, sharing stories of the Autumn Moon Festival and cracking open hidden pastries.

"The moon is lovely." Zuko noted.

Katara was sitting, her feet in the fountain where the bison and monks had lounged before. She was clad in a simple white robe with silvery embroidery of flowers, for it was chilly, and had woven lovely, pale flowers in her dark hair. Zuko noticed the light shining against her skin and felt almost as if he were stepping into Agni's temple and looking up at the deity's statue—reverent, in awe, silent.

"Come here." She smiled, patting the area next to her. He noticed a big mooncake in her hand as he settled down, and she split it in half, offering it to him.

"It's red bean paste with duck egg." she explained. "Do you like it?"

Zuko bowed his head as his fingers clutched around the gift. "It's my favorite." He bit into it, the saltiness and hardness gave away easily, but crumbs scattered and stuck to his mouth and chin. The Fire Lord looked up to see how Katara was faring: she was delicately nibbling on it as a queen would a cookie, but she had the same situation.

"Here—" He said, reaching his hand out and brushing them away with a firm stroke of his slightly clenched fingers. She stiffened slightly, and he quickly paused.

They both looked away quickly, then finished off the cake without any mishaps. He cleaned his fingers in the fountain, then reclined back as he saw Katara doing.

He liked the easy way, after all these years, her smile appeared on her face.

"If the tales are true, then Yue has Chang-e to keep her company, and the Jade Rabbit besides."

He nodded in affirmation. "She deserves company. After everything."

"You know," Katara moved her right foot slightly in the water, and it made a quiet, thoughtful, slippery splash. "I pray to Yue for strength, because Yue taught me something important. In the North, all I wanted to do was_ fight_, you know? Be a warrior, prove myself against Pakku. I was like of like Sokka in a way—that I must train, that being the strongest fighter was the best. Don't ever tell anyone this—" she breathed into his ear. "but I once thought that I was better than Yue. She wasn't trained to fight; she had guards with her every single minute; she couldn't even_ bend_.

"But when Zhao killed the Moon Spirit," she murmured. "she stood up. That's what I remembered. She walked right up to the dead koi fish, back straight like a true princess, smooth and calm steps. Sokka told her no, that she didn't have to do this, but she said it was her duty. Not just to her tribe. To the _world_. To restore balance. As much as the Avatar.

"Her voice was shaking, but she kept going. I never understood my dad when he talked about you could be scared and courageous at the same time, but she was. I realized that it wasn't battle courage that Yue had, that saved the Water Tribe, the balance. It was...quiet strength. Inside.

"It was over in such a short time. No one said goodbye to her; it was just truly terrible to see her just collapse, to hear Sokka say 'she's gone' and to repeat it in this soft, broken voice.

"It's the hardest time for Sokka now," she told him, his arm slung around her shoulders. "The moon is at its most brightest, most beautiful, but it only makes Sokka sad." She tilted her head back, gazing into the yellowish glow with a speculative look on her face. "He's lucky...that he has Suki. She helps him recover, but yet, she doesn't begrudge him for never forgetting about Yue. Sokka believes that it's his fault, that he should have protected her more. He loved her. He loved her so much that he once told me that he would have taken her place, right then." Katara lightly traced the surface of the pool with her finger. "It's so...powerful. That sacrifice. That desperation. That longing."

She looked at him suddenly. "What are you thinking, Zuko?"

He leaned against her. "I'd feel like Sokka...if you were truly struck by Azula's lightning."

Her eyes widened and locked onto his. For a moment, she didn't say anything and it was all cicadas and crickets and wind. But then, she was biting her lip, worrying it in a way that Zuko felt endearing.

"For true?" she asked softly, like a little girl begging for a parent's promise to come back from a battle.

He was no good with words. Zuko instead pressed his lips against her temple and echoed her words in a tender tone that made his heart settle in his chest as if it was firmly stirring properly like a cat near a fireplace all these years.

"For true."

A gentle blow through her nose. "You can't think that."

"I won't, for now." He squeezed her hand, soft in time for the festival, smelling of crushed seaweed and salt. "Look at the moon, Katara. It's tradition to wish upon it, to ask Chang-e for a special favor. Come, smooth your brow and whisper it to her."

She shook her head, the silvery moon flowers bobbing and bouncing with that motion. He sighed in affectionate frustration.

"Stubborn girl. I should have known you couldn't be distracted."

She laughed and shook her head again. "That's not it."

"What?" he inquired, bemused, scooping her into his lap and breathing in the scent of her flowers and hair.

She leaned in backwards, into his warmth, his arms, his touch. She heard a soft little contented sigh and closed her eyes. "I have everything I want, here."

* * *

_Notes:_

_Happy Zutara Week, and thank you to all who reviewed, favorited, and followed this collection of stories! It really means a lot! _


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